Life and leisure aboard Skylab, NASA's 1970s space station
 

Life and leisure aboard Skylab, NASA's 1970s space station
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1973

Astronaut Joseph Kerwin examines Charles Conrad during the first manned mission to Skylab.

Image: SSPL/Getty Images

Decades before the moon landing, an orbital space station was considered a natural early step in space exploration. Initial concepts envisioned massive rotating stations with dozens of personnel for terrestrial surveillance, but advances in solar power and communications tech**logy made it possible for robotic satellites to perform such tasks.

Throughout the 1960s, several concepts were explored for smaller stations that could fit inside a Saturn V rocket stage rather than be assembled in orbit, including a “wet workshop” design, where a fuel tank would be emptied once in orbit and converted into a spacious living area. The cancellation of several moon missions freed up the resources to launch a “dry workshop” station with the interior already assembled. Read more...

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